30 Day Writing Challenge
by yas-m
Summary: 30 prompts, 30 one shots, Julia/Barbie
1. Collide

**I am doing a 30 Day Writing Challenge over on tumblr and thought I'd post them here. They're going to be mostly Jarbie centric, and I will try to include other characters as well. I hope you enjoy these.**

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><p><strong>(130) ****Collide**

He was supposed to be in this town for just a few hours, collect the money and hightail the hell out. He hated small towns. Everyone knew everyone, and everyone knew everyone's business. A stranger never does well in small towns, raising eyebrows and inviting questions. And a stranger of his kind does even worse in these kinds of places, eyebrows, questions and whispers usually followed by rumours and altercations with the locals. All things he wanted to avoid. But no, that was not how things would work out. If only Maxine had given Peter that extra week he asked for, if only Peter had not pulled out that gone, if only he had kept his eye on the road as that sherif car drove by… So many hypothetical if's thrown in there, but if he were to be honest, he knew deep down, he would have never been able to leave Chester's Mill before the dome came down.

But some greater forces were calling the shots that day. He stood by the dome, with the town sherif, his deputy and the town councilman. He had kept his distance, but he saw how they watched him with the same curiosity they watched the dome. _He needed to get out of there and quickly._

And then _she _came along. Red hair, wild and unruly, a camera in hand and a thousand questions on the tip of her tongue. He knew she was trouble.

"Who the hell are you?" she'd asked him, just like that, no subtlety in her approach.

"Barbie," he said, trying his best not to get entangled in a conversation.

But he soon figured out that was not going to be easy, not with her.

"I'm not your story," he'd said, trying his best to remain as curt and withdrawn as possible. The last thing he needed was the town reporter asking him questions. He just wanted to hide in some motel until this whole dome thing was over.

She smiled and the impact of _that_ collision was far more powerful than that of an invisible, impenetrable dome crash landing over a entire town.


	2. Storm

**2. Storm **

The wind outside her bedroom window howls mercilessly, blowing so hard, slamming the giant branches against her window. She'd never been one to worry about a storm at night. On the contrary, she had always found them so soothing, so calming, sending her into a lulling sleep. She had also never been one to worry about sleeping alone. Even after marrying Peter, and getting used to having him in bed wit her, it never bothered her when he went on business trips, or when she did and spent her nights alone in unfamiliar hotel rooms.

The wind outside her bedroom window howls mercilessly and she just sits there, staring at at the ceiling above her, hugging a pillow - _his pillow - _to his chest. It's funny how in just a few weeks the pillow that had been Peter's for months, now only smells of him. He should be here, next to her, holding her in his arms as the branches outside pounded relentlessly against the glass. But no, he was on the other side, on the other side of this goddamned dome. She couldn't understand why the dome that brought them together would take him away from her so violently.

She thought about how it would have been if he was with her, how they'd wrap up in each other's arms under the thick blanket, her head nestled in the crook of her neck, his beard scratching her forehead as his lips planted a soft kiss against her skin. She hugged the pillow tighter and sighed. _At least she knows he is alive._

She thinks of the night before, when she still didn't know he was alive. She'd cried herself to sleep then, thinking of the man she'd known for such a short while and had fallen in love with. She'd fought all day with the possibility of him surviving the fall, despite the faith that Norrie and Joe had, she was terrified of having faith only to be let down again. But he did survive and she had seen him with her own two eyes, their palms instinctually falling onto the right place on that dome, and despite the fact that it was soundproof, she'd heard him say those words, _I miss you too, _she heard the love, the pain and the longing in his words.

But then they took him away, and even though it scared her, she knew he'd find a way out, find a way back to her. The fact that he was alive was all that mattered.

The storm outside her window hadn't stopped, it had actually grown more violent. The howling of the wind, the shuffling of the branches, and the deafening thunder grow louder and louder, but his voice in her head, resonating with the beating of her heart, silences all the madness outside, _I love you, Julia._

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><p>Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed the first chapter. Really hope you guys enjoy these. I know they're short, but I'm just getting into writing Jarbie so I'm working slowly to getting the characters and their voices right.<p>

Erin, I'd love to write something for "Your Stray"! Do you have anything specific in mind, or should I just got for it? ;)


	3. Slide

**3. Slide**

"What are you doing?" she said, giggling as his fingers drew invisible patterns on the skin of her bare shoulder, featherlike touches that sent butterflies to her stomach.

"Hmmm… nothing," he mumbled, his fingers not leaving the task they had created for themselves. They were supposed to be meeting Rebecca, Andrea and Tom in less than an hour at the Sweet Briar but they got… _distracted. _They were getting dressed, finding something warmer as the temperatures continued to drop.

She let out another giggle and turned to face him. Her laughter floated into the room and faded as she watched him. His head was dropped, lips tightened into a narrow line, his gaze locked on his fingers that hadn't ceased their quest. She brought her hand up, gently caressing his neck, softly, carefully.

"Hey… are you ok?" she whispered worriedly, urging him to look up her.

"There was that kid, at the park," he said, his eyes still focused in a trancelike state as his fingers continued tracing unseen paths along her skin, "he was there for hours. I know because I spent hours waiting for you jump, before I knew what was really going on, that my dad had changed the email."

She listened to him intently, scared of making any sudden moves, as he seemed to have traveled back with that story, and she desperately wanted him to take her with him. Emotions bubbled in his voice and he continued, "he was there for hours, just running around, playing. He never got tired, never got bored. He went up and down the slide like, fifty… sixty times, all in a row," he recalled, his hand finally leaving her shoulder, traveling up, his thumb gently brushing her cheek, before resting his arm by his side. He looked at her then, his eyes warm, affectionate, emotional.

"He just kept going up and down, then running back around and doing it all over again," he explained, "and I just watched him and couldn't understand it… how playing on that slide could still be fun after going on it so many times, how every time he came down he had a look of unadulterated joy on his face… I just couldn't get it," he said.

She watched him as he spoke, completely fixated on every word, her eyes attached to his, drowning into the sea of emotions that was erupting in his blue eyes. She took his hand in hers, assuring him that she was still there with him, _that she would always be with him._

"But I do… I get it… It isn't about the slide itself, it's about the exhilaration of the feeling he got from speeding down that slippery surface, the wind in his face, the ground under him getting closer and closer," he whispered, "so it didn't matter how many times he'd gone down…" he spoke softly, his fingers finding their way back to her soft shoulder, "it doesn't matter how many times you've seen something, touched it… some things will never lose their excitement, their enjoyment… their _importance_."

_Some things will always mean everything._


	4. Repeat

**4. Repeat**

_Barbie, I've seen you sacrifice yourself for total strangers. But in the future, there can be no more lies.  
><em>_In the future? You sure?  
><em>_Maybe._

He's done some stupid things in his time. He's done some very stupid in his time. He has one scar too many from getting into bar fights he had nothing to do with in the first place, helping out a friend or just having one drink too many. He has spent more nights in lock up than he'd like to admit, more nights with women he had no intention towage up next to the next day, more under the table deals, gambles, dirty poker games in smoky back rooms of dodgy bars. And of course, there was the work he did for Maxine.

But the stupidest thing that Barbie has done was make the same stupid things over and over again ever since leaving the military. He would go back to the same bar he got kicked out of the night before for fighting only to get back into another fight with the same people over the same card game. He would sleep with the same woman, forget her name before the night is over, disappear from her bed before dawn, and then do it all over again a few weeks later. He would lose his money over and over again to the same bookie over the same dumb bets over and over again.

For a very smart guy, Barbie was dumb enough to repeat the same stupid things time after time after time.

Until now, until her.

_I__'__m coming back for you.  
><em>_I know._

She'd given him a second chance, something he was not used to, something her never expected. And that night he made her and he made himself a promise. _No more lies. _He knew his damaged soul's only chance at redemption was through her and for once he had a reason, a reason to wake up every morning, a reason to survive, a reason to stop screwing up.

There were to be no more lies. Never again. And he's lived up to it. Ever since that evening, everything was laid out in the open between them, which was probably why they argued a lot. He was not used to it, the honestly, but he found out he preferred it that way. She was right. _Of course she was, she always is._

He takes a moment, locks her gaze with his, confidently, he wants her to know, to understand that his words are not an empty promise, not a lover's false song meant. He wants her to believe him, for every part of her to feel the weight of his promise to her. To wait for him, to not give up on him. He means it, truly, honestly, because there are no lies between them. So when he says he is coming back for her, he means it, whatever it takes, whatever it means, his path will always be towards her. He will come back to her because his journey cannot be traveled without her, because saving each other is what they do. Because he won't repeat his mistakes ever again, _there can be no more lies._


	5. Rain

**AN: Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing. Sorry this is delayed a few days but I've been sick. Hope you enjoy this, and if you do, please leave a review, they make me happy and when I am happy I write more ;)**

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><p><strong>5. Rain<strong>

It rains the first time they kiss, or rather; they kiss the first time it rains. After a day riddled with madness and chaos, the rain brings order. It brings familiarity, normalcy and a promise that they just might survive this. _We're gonna be okay. _ She whispered the words against his neck and suddenly the days toil and the insanity it brought with it seemed to just… disappear. Replaced with her soft breath against his skin, her rapid but steady heartbeat against his chest, it promised of him of something, of a chance, of a better tomorrow.

It rains the last day they spend together under the dome. Things happen very fast, too fast for anyone to stop and think and they just act. The dome is contracting, the weather is deteriorating and people are dying and they are just trying to survive. Survival is counted by hours, not days or weeks. People panic, argue, and they just take it one step at a time. Try to get them to load onto the buses and that alone is proving a hard task. At the crater, the rain stops and he finally convinces everyone that they have no other choice. When he kisses her then, her wild red hair still damp, he doesn't know it will be their last kiss for a while, even though she knew Pauline's vision had to have some tragic repercussions to it. So she pulls him in to another kiss. _I love you too._

It rains when they finally reunite, months after their separation in the tunnels. He keeps his promise; _I'm coming back for you, _as she knew he would, but she and Junior had long since left Chester's Mill when he finds a way back. He doesn't stop looking for her, and neither does she stop trying to find her way to him. He looks different, thinner, more scars on his face than she remembers. She looks exactly the same, _the most beautiful thing he could ever imagine. _He sees Junior first, and then when he sees her, the first drop of rain falls on his cheek. For months he has been a drowning man, searching for shore, and when he runs to her, bodies colliding, lips crashing, the flood from the heavens mixes with the tears that fall unabashedly.

It rains when he proposes. They're on the road, of course, they're always on the road, never been able to stay put, not since it ended, not since _the way _it ended. They stop at a gas station, and he fills up as she steps into the store for a few things. They drive a beat up old truck, all their belongings fitting in the back. They travel from city to city, town to town, sometimes they rent a small apartment, sometime they stay at a motel, and sometimes, if they don't plan on staying long, they just sleep under the stars. They are somewhere in California when he gets on knee and asks the question. It isn't especially romantic, in the traditional sense of the word. But he waits for her to come out of the store and reaches into his pocket, gets down on one and just about as he opens his mouth to speak, it starts pouring. Nothing gentle and soft, instead, it's the kind of rain that could shatter a window. He knows he will have to scream for her to hear him but he has been hesitating for too long and he won't back up now. She is laughing at the top of her lungs as he struggles, his knee deep in mud, his whole body drenched but when he finally says the words, _will you marry me?, _she's right there with him, knees just as deep in the wet and her arms wrap around his neck, her lips on his instantly. And when they finally break apart, she has to scream over the downpour to say, _YES._

It rains when she tells him she is pregnant. They still haven't settled down in one place, even though they'd made a stop somewhere along the way, in a small town of three hundred residents, stepped into the town hall and gotten married. He had folded the marriage license and put it in his back pocket and she wouldn't let him hear the end of it. They're watching the sunset and she's reading him post cards from their friends when she suddenly stops and rests her head on his shoulder. He takes her hand in his, his thumb gently tracing over her skin, and he brings it to his lips and feathers light kisses against her knuckles. _It looks like it's gonna rain, _she muses and he asks her is she wants to go inside. _No, I want to tell you something, _she says. And his face lights up like a Christmas tree when she tells him just as the first drops of autumn rain land on her eyelashes.

It rains the first night they move into the first real house they buy. Their daughter is already three years old and has spent the first three years of her life on the road with her parents. Sure, it doesn't sound like proper parenting, but it worked for them. She's a split image of her mother; wild red hair, a sea of freckles and the brightest blue eyes. She has her father wrapped around her finger, which only infuriates her mother. She is running up and down the stairs, jumping on the bed in her bedroom, (she still doesn't believe she has a bedroom all for herself). She takes off her shoes and starts sliding on the wood floor in her socks, twice sliding straight into her father who carries boxes into the house. She giggles loudly, announcing her apology to him before sliding in the other direction. By early evening, she has worn herself out and snuggles on the couch between her parents, a warm cup of cocoa held tightly in her grasp, she is starting to fall asleep when the first drops of rain play against the roof, Barbie and Julia look at each other and smile, a twinkle of mischief in both their eyes. He kisses her quickly, a kiss laced with a lustful promise and carries their daughter upstairs to her bedroom, leaving Julia waiting impatiently for his return.


	6. Alone

**6. Alone**

He's been alone for almost all his life, it feels strange _being_ with someone. What he had with Maxine before was… different. It was fun and wild and volatile. It was unhealthy on all levels, but still they were never _together. _He constantly tried to convince himself that being alone is better, that he's a lone wolf, that he wouldn't do well in a relationship. That he wasn't _good enough _to deserve it. _It's not all that it's cut out to be, _he used to tell himself.

But just a few days into his relationship with Julia, he realizes just how wrong he has been. It is not in the big things, in the grand gestures or the huge changes. It is in the small things, in the indiscernible moments and the subtlest of changes. It is in the involuntary smile that spreads across his face when he wakes up in the morning with her head resting against his chest, her warm breath on his skin. It is in the radiance of the smile she gives him as she hands him his morning cup of coffee, in the perfect way her hand fits in his, and how empty it feels when she lets go. It is in the way his heart skips a beat when he sees her in a crowd and she gives him _that _smile.

He finds it in the comfort of the weight of body leaning against his as they finally come back home and spend the evening silently on the couch. It is in the sound of her laughter echoing in his soul, the brightness of her gaze when they talk. It is never going to bed alone or waking up without her warm body nestled safely in his arms.

It is in the feeling of her lips against his, the feeling of finally being _home._

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><p><strong><em>Are you guys enjoying these? I really hope so because they're definitely taking a lot from me. I am usually horrible at updates and this is the first time I am actually writing every day. The thing is that a lot of people are reading the story but very few are leaving reviews and it makes me feel it means they are not enjoying them. So... are you? :_**


	7. Window

**7. Window**

She wakes up alone, on an unfamiliar couch in an unfamiliar house and it takes her a moment to remember where she is and why. Her mind quickly travels back to the day before, waking up in bed with _him, _Harriet, the baby… _Alice._

She remembers lying down in his arms, the day's events finally taking their toll on everyone, but they didn't sleep. They could hear Harriet and her baby in the room next to them, Angie and Joe talking in the kitchen, and they could hear Carolyn and Norrie's strangled sobs upstairs.

She had lay in his arms, the only place that had felt safe, their fingers intertwined, the rise and fall of his chest against her back creating a rare sense of peace and normalcy in all the madness. She traced phantom patterns on his fingers and he whispered soft, comforting words against her hair with gentle kisses to her forehead. She isn't sure when exactly it was when they finally fell asleep, or if he had slept at all. She remembers him getting up at some point, dawn probably, gently laying her back on the couch, and placing a blanket on top of her.

She walks quietly around the house, trying to find him while being careful not to wake anyone. She finally finds him, outside in the yard and he's digging… _a grave. _She feels the tears fall, and even though she barely knew Alice, something about her loss fell heavily on her chest. It makes it clear that their lives will never be the same, their existence so fragile, that their losses will be many. _The inevitability of death._

She watches him through the kitchen window as he works, never taking a break, the sweat of his brow and arms glistening in the morning sun. And she wonders how many graves he has dug before, _how many more he is going to have to dig under the dome._

She rests her head against the window and sighs. She watches him work, tirelessly, wordlessly, alone. She has yet to learn so much about this man, but as she watches him, the selfless way in which he gives for others, the irrational way he throws himself in the face of danger, the hard shell he maintains, the walls he builds up to keep people away… She has seen that underlying anger, sadness and pain, but she has also seen his gentleness, the way he touched her, kissed her and made love to her. She watches quietly through the window and wonders if she will ever be able to see him without his guards, completely vulnerable, get to meet the man he tries to hide.

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><p><strong>AN: You guys! Thank you so much for the feedback and all awesome reviews last chapter. Sorry if I sounded like a drama queen ;) Hope you enjoy this!<strong>


	8. Fire

**8. Fire**

The day Duke's house caught fire was the last day she takes out her camera and played the role of the journalist. It was the day the cruel the cruel realization that their past lives no longer matter, that they no longer exist, hit her hardest. On that day came the realization that they have to accept their new roles, their new lives. She watched the town come together, people working together as a community to put out the fire. She watched them band together save their town, their lives. She watched them take orders from a complete stranger, a man who quickly took charge, thought of a solution, delegated and managed; a born leader.

He just didn't know it yet.

She wondered why he couldn't see it, this innate quality in him, why he secluded himself, hides away, stayed away from people the way he did. She wondered about his past, what it was that had made him this way. She knew that he was in the military, that was about as much of himself as he had revealed. He did have a way of getting out of answering her questions. And the investigative reporter in her was just dying to know. He was the most interesting individual she had come across in Chester's Mill, but also the most discrete, the quietest and the most secretive.

But she just needed to get to know him, understand him and meet the man under the shield. She may have put her camera away, but she was still a reporter at heart. Her role may have changed from town paper editor to the Dome's Monarch of choice, but she was still the same inquisitive woman who needed to find answers.

And when she finally finds the answers about him, when she finally gets to peel those layers, scratch at his rough exterior, it is beyond anything she could ever imagine. The rough looking tough guy is in fact a tough guy, a strong man both physically and mentally, but he is also this gentle, caring and protective man. He is the man with the kind heart who she falls madly in love with before she can get all the answers she had been looking for about him.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, this is horrible, I know and I am sorry. But I promised myself I would write everyday and it's technically 2am so this is actually a day late, but I just had to do it because...well I promised <strong>**myself? LOL! so yeah, don't hate me or hate this too much :/ Promise next time will be better!**


	9. Snow

**9. Snow **(Future fic)

The weather report said was going to be a cool night with a light breeze, and so, they decided to walk. They were having dinner at a small Italian restaurant in town that they loved. Ever since _it _ended, and they finally given their chance at peace and at a normal peaceful life, they quickly realized that the media and people in general were not going to leave them alone. It was a hassle until they found this little town, where people respected their privacy and the paparazzi quickly realized there were far more interesting celebrities to stalk.

They enjoyed their simple life, it was quiet and uneventful, a welcome change to the insane lives they had to live for two years. Sometimes it got too boring, but they didn't complain. Julia wrote a lot, something she'd always wanted to do, not as a journalist but just write. And Barbie built things, like the house they lived in, and in between, they ran a small diner, _Angie's. _And every Thursday night, they had dinner at the little Italian place in town.

It started snowing just as they left the restaurant heading home, a gentle snowfall, and when she laughed in excitement he felt his heart soar at the sound of it. He took her hand in his, wrapping it tightly to keep it warm, and pulled her to him, whispered in her ear, "do you want to take a cab?"

She smiled and shook her head, her auburn curls swaying in the breeze and sending the few snowflakes in her hair flying, "no, let walk," she said and he obliged. They walked silently, enjoying the gentle snow, their hands clasped tight until he felt her shiver slightly, "are you ok?" he asked her, and even though she nodded, he pulled back and took off his jacket. He wrapped it tightly around her shoulders, pulling her to him, flicking a snowflake off her nose before planting a sweet kiss against its tip. "My hero," she whispered and he laughed, putting his arm around her shoulder and leading her back down the sidewalk.

By the time they made it home, their front lawn was covered in a sheet of white and the neighbor's kids were playing in their yard. They waved at them and made their way up the front porch.

"Wait," he whispered just before she could put the key in the door.

"What?" she asked.

He just smiled, put his hands on her waist and pulled her to him. She blushed, a sweet smile crept on her lips and she dropped her head. He brought a hand up to her face, her cheeks flushed and his thumb could resist to gently stroke her skin. He caught a snowflake just as it landed on her long eyelashes. He rested his forehead against hers, and just before his lips found hers, he whispered, "happy anniversary."


	10. Help

**10. Help  
><strong>~ set after 2.06 because I have been dying for a scene like that on the show~

She's not sure if a single day has passed since the dome has come down when he has not had at least one injury. Unfortunately, given his instinct to jump right in, it was usually his face that was bruised, cut or swollen. And of course, he did often come home with the occasional fractured rib or banged up shoulder. He plays the tough guy, naturally, shrugging his injuries off as just scratches or a forgetful bump, but she hears him when he tries to turn at night and the pain is too much, the way he winces, or hisses to muscle through it. She absolutely hates it. She hates that he has to go through it all, all the pain he has to endure.

They have just made it back home from the high school, leaving Sam's body somewhere in the bottom of that pit, both physically and mentally exhausted. They walk into their bedroom and she sits down on the bed, her head falling in her hands as the day's events take their toll on her. She feels him coming to stand in front of her, one hand lands on her shoulder, gently massaging the fatigue away, and the other hand tenderly smoothes over her hair. He whispers something about taking a shower and leaves with a kiss to the top of her head. She knows she must be filthy as well, her skin covered in rubble and dirt and dust, but she is _so damn tired. _It seems like every day under this _goddamn _dome is another day dodging a bullet or a bomb or _a drop into the abyss._

She doesn't know how long she sits there, letting the weight crush her into the soft mattress of the bed but she soon hears the shower turn off in the bathroom and waits for him to step out. Five, ten minutes later, when he still hasn't come out, she goes in to check on him. She finds him with his back to her, the first aid kit sitting on the counter as he tries to awkwardly clean the wounds on his neck. She steps up being him and puts a hand to his shoulder, "hey, let me help with that," she urges him, and he gives her an appreciative look. She grabs the first aid kit off the counter, and takes his hand in hers, leading him back into the bedroom.

He sits on the bed and she makes her way behind him, settling with her legs tucked under her. The cuts and scrapes on his neck have stopped bleeding, so she makes sure she cleans them properly. He winces at the pain and she stutters her apology, momentarily stopping her actions. He reaches back, reassuringly rubbing her thigh, "it's ok," he says as she continues.

She packs everything back in the kit when she is done, but doesn't get up. She sighs heavily and rests her forehead against the top of his bare back, still wet from his shower. She wraps her arms around his waist, holding onto him tightly. He understands. He could have died today, _again, _and he knows just how lucky he is to be alive, to be here with her. He takes her hands in his and brings them up to his lips, kissing her knuckles, her fingers and he feels her tears fall onto his back. Effortlessly, he turns around and pulls her into his lap, wraps his arms around her, holding her so tight. She finds the warmth of his neck, buries her face there and wraps her arms around his neck, her fingers clinging to the hairs on the back of his head. He just holds her, lets her cry as he whispers comforting words against her skin and peppers her forehead with soothing kisses.

It's a few minutes before she pulls back, smiling apologetically. She has never let him see her so vulnerable, even the night she found about Peter, he'd stayed downstairs back then. The ashamed apology is ready to leave her lips when he pulls her to him, his hands on her face gentle yet full of intent and his lips on her swallowing her apology with his.

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><p><strong>ok, you guys know the drill, please let me know what you think :)<strong>


	11. New

**11. New**

They adapted to their new lives quickly, not because it was easy, but because they had to. _Because their survival depended on it._ Their old jobs, their old lives, roles, relationships, routines, they all got thrown head over heals and they had to quickly adjust to the changes and take their new places or get lost on the mess and drown. It worked that way, previous social constructs and norms didn't exist under the dome, and the town came together, more or less, understanding that they needed to band together to survive. People became more helpful towards each other, more compassionate, more thoughtful.

But they also became more violent, more selfish, more distrusting. Because they knew how fragile their existence was, they knew the importance of self-preservation and survival, they became more aware of the need to protect themselves. When things didn't seem threatening, the people of Chester's Mill under the dome were the friendliest and most helpful. The moment they sensed a threat, things become very sinister very quickly.

It was on such a day, two people got into a debate outside the diner. The debate grew into a argument, the argument into a fight and before anyone understood what was happening, one of them pulled out a gun and shot the other. He bled to death on the sidewalk. He was a tailor before. The man who killed him owned a toy store.

_Julia was just a few steps away when the shots were fired._

It was later in the evening and she was sitting in the living room, slightly in shock. She had just told Barbie about the day's events and his reaction was anything but what she expected. He just listened to her silently and when she was done, he just got up and marched up stairs without saying a word. She waited nervously for his return, and five minutes later he came back down, his jaw set and a frown all over his face. She watched as he made his way back and sat down on the coffee table across from her.

"I want you to take this," he blurted out and held out a gun towards her.

Julia's eyes widened with shock, she shook her head, pushing his hand and the gun it held away from her, "No," she said sternly.

His mouth tightened in a straight line and his brow scrunched. She was stubborn, he knew that, but he was not going to let this pass. She almost _died _today because two idiots thought settling an argument with bullets was the most logical course of action. Their lives were in danger every day and he hated that she walked around unarmed and believing in the inherent good of people at the same time.

"Please, Julia," he urged her but she remained insistent, crossing her arms and sitting back against the couch to emphasize her disapproval.

But if she was terribly stubborn, Barbie was just as stubborn if not more. He held her gaze, his plea evident in his eyes.

"Barbie, no, we're not going to start putting guns in untrained hands! It is the last thing we need!" she said, the exasperation evident in her voice.

His head dropped and he let out a heavy sigh. For a moment they just sat there. His eyes closed and the gun clasped tightly in his grasp while she sat across from him, leaning slightly forward with her knees brushing his. He finally looked back up, placed the gun on the table next to him and took her hands in his, holding them just as tightly as he had held that gun.

"I understand why you don't want to carry that gun, and you have to know that I hate that I have to ask you in the first place," he explained, "and I am not saying we should go out handing guns to every person in town."

He swallowed, looking up at her and urging her to look at him, really look at him, see the sincerity in his words, "I just… you could have _died _today and that… the thought terrifies me. It _cripples _ me, I can't even think about it," he said, the emotions clear in his voice, "and I want nothing but to just be with you all the time, for you to never hold a gun but…"

"I don't need you to protect me all the time," she interrupted him and he let out a frustrated chuckle at her outburst. "I know, I know, you don't need my protection. You can take care of yourself, trust me, I know that," he said. She was his "run into the fire" girl and that was the problem. "And that is exactly why you _need _to have this, you never know when… when you might need it to _protect yourself_," he pleaded with her.

She smiled, warmly, appreciatively. For a slight moment she hated that she hadn't given him the benefit of the doubt. She moved forward to the edge of the couch, their hands still entwined between them. She rested her forehead against his and whispered, "thank you."

He breathed her in and sighed, "but I don't know how to use a gun, and I'm pretty sure I'd hurt myself before anyone else if I carried that thing around," she added as she pulled back slightly.

He smiled, pulling back as well, reaching up and playing with a stray curl that escaped her messy bun, "okay," he said gently. "Okay?" she asked, pleasantly shocked at his reply, and he nodded, "there's a _but_, isn't there?" she asked when she saw the slight mischief in his eyes.

He nodded again and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small pocketknife, "will you at least carry this around?" he asked.

She smiled, let out a short laugh and took the knife from him, a confirmation that she was okay with the knife. She moved forward, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck, "thank you," she whispered, genuinely grateful for what he just did, before kissing him softly. He let her control the kiss for just a short moment before his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her to him, and onto his lap.

"You're so damn stubborn, you know that?" he laughed and crashed his lips back to hers.

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><p><strong>A slightly longer chapter! Yay! Hope you like this one. If you do, you know what to do :)<strong>


	12. Perfect

**12. Perfect**

She loves to watch him sleep. There is something in the way his face relaxes and his mouth remains slightly open that is just _perfect._ The intensity, the edge, the fire that fueled him during his waking hours are somehow replaced by a peaceful calm, a stillness that was terribly endearing to her. They rarely get a moment to really relax under the dome, especially him, so it fills her heart with bliss to see him like this. She tries to ignore the black and blue bruises, the scars and cuts and scrapes, and focuses on his beautiful serene features.

But it is not always the case. The peace, the calm, they are quite often disturbed, painfully ripped away from him by hellish nightmares. His face contorts in anguish, his body starts shaking and she hates it. She watches him with agony tearing at her heart while his mind and body battle with whichever of his demons has possessed him that night. She just watches him, wishing she could so something to ease his pain, worried of what might happen if she tries to wake him. So she just sits there, waiting for him to fight through it, while she softly whispers that she's right here for him. She hates it, hates that his battles never seem to end, that his demons, whether those from the wars or new ones since the dome, never leave him alone.

He always wakes up from his nightmares the same way, in shock, in pain, confused. His body shaking, tears shining in his eyes, his breathing heavy and a terrified gasp escaping his lips. "It's ok, you're ok, it's just a dream, you're ok," he hears her sweet voice and it brings him back, settles him, calms him down. And in the dark, his petrified eyes find hers, bright blue shining, guiding him home. She reaches for him and he hold on to her. Holds her so tight that it cannot be comfortable for her. But she doesn't care, does whatever it takes for him. He holds her, grabs onto her shirt, his knuckles turn white and she never stops whispering into his soul. Her hands travel over his body, gently, soothingly, her fingers in his hair combing gently. They fall back to sleep like that, holding on to each other, wrapped up in each.

He has always had nightmares, especially since returning from the war. They were mostly the same, war nightmares, in all their forms and shapes. They were never pleasant. But they never did this to him. No, these are quite new. These started after the dome came down. And they are always the same. They are always about losing her. _Julia._


	13. Ending

**13. Ending  
><strong>~Future Fic~

"Daddy, tell me the story," his four year old cooed, her words coming between adorable yawns as she settled in his lap.

It was his turn to tuck her in and it was by far his favorite part of any day. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tiny body to his chest and he smiled. He knew what story she was talking about. It's the story she asked for every night. Unlike other girls her age, she didn't ask for stories about princesses and castles and handsome princes. No, their daughter preferred stories of adventure and action. She preferred _their _story; the one about the invisible dome that was the reason why her parents met. She was their daughter after all. And she was in every way. She had her mother's fiery red hair and sea of freckles, both her parents piercing blue eyes, curious, inquisitive and gentle. She was stubborn and strong headed, she was a born leader who stood up for what was right, or at least what was right in a preschool playground. Her teacher for a parent-teacher meeting had called them a few weeks earlier. Apparently, she got into a fight with three of the boys. The reason? They were bullying another kid and she just wouldn't have it.

"Are you sure you don't want to hear another story tonight?" he asked her playfully and she just shook her head, her little curls bouncing against her cheeks. "No, I want the dome story," she insisted.

"Ok," he relented with a smile, resting back against the chair and started telling her the story for what seemed like the thousandth time. Of course, they didn't tell her the _whole _story. They kept all the violent parts out. Technically the story narrowed down to how an invisible dome came down, trapping mommy and daddy and all their friends in a town called Chester's Mill. Mommy and Daddy were strangers, but they quickly became friends and worked together to help everyone survive. Then they fell in love and together with their friends they managed to help everyone escape.

Barbie and Julia told the story almost in the same exact way, with a small difference. And that was why their daughter loved asking for it every night. One night she'd hear her mother's version that talked about how daddy saved mommy and the next night she'd hear her father's version in which mommy saved daddy.

She was almost asleep when he got to the ending, her eyelids struggling to remain open, her breathing steady and warm against his chest, her little fist grabbing to his shirt. He got up slowly, carrying her in his arms and gently set her down on her bed.

"What happened in the end daddy?" she mumbled sleepily.

"You know what happened," he teased her, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.

"I want you to tell me," she said, her eyes now completely shut.

He stroked her cheek softly as he finished his story, "and then mommy and daddy got married and had a beautiful, strong and brave little girl."

"And they lived happily ever after?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied emotionally, "and they lived happily ever after."


	14. Moon

**Ok, you guys, I'm giving this one last shot. The thing is that the last three chapters I posted got one review all together and I know for a fact that so many more people are reading. So either you guys hate these or you don't care enough to review, and honestly as much as I love writing these, they also take a lot from me and not getting reviews is just too depressing. So I'm trying with this chapter, if it's still the same I just won't bother anymore. I hate being that person, but you got to understand how hard it is for a person to put so much effort and then nothing. So if you're not enjoying them I'll just stop.**

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><p><strong>14. Moon <strong>

It was almost midnight and they were still driving home. She sat in the passenger seat of his car while he drove them down the quiet rural roads. It was early autumn and even though she would never admit it to him, she was way too stubborn after all, she loved when they took his car, especially on such drives. Of course, she will constantly remind him that his open top Bronco was not a toddler friendly car, especially not a toddler who can't sit still. But secretly, she loved the liberating feeling of riding in it, the way the wind blew her hair, the cool fresh country air filling her lungs.

She rests her head back against the seat and looks at him, his eyes focused on the road ahead. She smiles at him, reaching over to playfully run her fingers through his hair. She's getting sleepy but they still have some driving to do. She knows he doesn't mind when she sometimes falls asleep during their long rides but she prefers to stay up, to keep him company. Everyone raised an eyebrow when they announced their decision as to where their permanent resident was going to be. Even though his father left him everything, _everything, _including the big house in Zenith, the company, _everything, _they decided to call the small house by the lake home. They still owned the house in the city but that was barely used. The Barbara/Shumway family officially lived at the lake house, miles away from everything and everyone. Sure it seemed like a hassle to have to drive for hours to get to town every day and for every small need they had, but they never complained. They loved it that way. They loved being away from everything, they loved the quiet, the calm, and they loved that their daughter was growing up surrounded by so much nature, clean air and blue skies. They did drive into town almost everyday, more so now than in the summer, with their daughter starting school, but they still refused to relocate to town.

"Do you want me to take over?" she asked him, offering to drive the rest of the way when he yawned.

He turned towards her, taking her hand that still sat on the back of his head and kissing it softly, "No, I'm good," he said.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look!" their five year old's voice came squeaking from the back seat. Julia turned back to look at her while Barbie's eyes switched to the rear view mirror. They were both under the impression she was fast asleep.

"What is it, honey?" Julia asked.

The little girl pointed up, craning her neck to look at the sky above, "look how big the moon is?" she said excitedly.

Julia looked up and smiled, "yeah, it's a full moon tonight," she told her eager daughter.

"Yeah, the sky is full of moon today," she said and both her parents couldn't help but chuckle at her comment, "mommy, do you know what the moon is made of?"

"No, you tell me, what is it made of?" Julia said, turning around in her seat to face her daughter.

"It's made of cheese!" her daughter said proudly.

"Is it now? Who told you that?" Julia retorted.

"Daddy," she said, pointing at her smirking father.

Julia looked at Barbie sideways, playfully punching his arm, "did he now?" she asked as he pretended her punch hurt and suppressed his laugh, "well, it's not _really _made of cheese, you know," she turned back to the excited red head in the back.

"I know it's not like the cheese we buy at the supermarket, mommy," her daughter spoke confidently, "it's made of moon cheese. It's different."

Julia dropped her head against the chair and giggled, "why would you tell her that?" she jokingly accused Barbie.

"What? She'll learn the boring science stuff eventually," he defended himself with a smile.

"Yeah, well when the time comes, you'll break the news to her," Julia teased, "I'm not going to be the one to break her heart."

Barbie laughed, turning briefly to see his daughter staring inquisitively at the moon and stars above, "as long as I don't have to break the Santa Claus news," he said.

"You don't play fair, Mr. Barbara," Julia argued back, and he laughed again, reaching over to take her hand back in his, squeezing it gently.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?" Barbie replied, watching the way his daughter bounced in excitement in the back seat, completely ignoring the "sit still in daddy's impractical car" rule.

"Do you think that when the astronauts go to the moon they can bring us a piece of moon cheese?" she asked.

It was Julia's turn to lose control and laugh, as Barbie struggled to maintain a straight face. "Why?" he asked.

"Because I want to taste what a grilled moon cheese sandwich tastes like."


	15. Bed

**I would just like to thank each and everyone for all your amazing and encouraging reviews and messages. Honestly, you have no idea how much I appreciate that and the time you took to say what you did. THANK YOU!**

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><p><strong>15. Bed<strong>

She was eight years old when her grandmother passed away. She was too young to fully understand - her grandmother had been battling cancer for a few years - but she was old enough to understand the idea of death.

"Grandma's gone to a better place, sweetie," her mother had said, kneeling next to her and holding her hands in hers. She remembered how cold her mother's hands were, how her hair was pulled back in a tight bun and the black dress she wore.

She would never forget the events of that day, the funeral and the service afterwards. She had sat in the church between her parents. Her father sat silently while her mother sobbed quietly. She hadn't understood much of what was said, the eulogies and the prayers but she had followed and done as she was told. People came in and out of her grandmother's house all, offering their condolences and a shoulder to cry on. A few people had spoken to her but mostly the adults just ignored her and that was why very few noticed that she had disappeared most of the afternoon.

She had walked upstairs to her grandmother's bedroom and climbed onto her bed. She was quite familiar with that bed having spent a few sleepovers with her grandmother, one of her favorite things to do. She would stay up late and her grandmother would spend hours telling her stories and showing her old pictures. She climbed onto the bed and lay on her back, staring at the old fashioned canopy and smiling at the memories. The bed smelled like her grandmother, cinnamon tea and _safety_.

She hugged a pillow to her chest. She hadn't cried. She had seen her family and her grandmother's friends cry all day but she hadn't. She knew she was going to miss her, _terribly_, but according to her mother, she had gone to a better place. So why should that make her sad? If her grandmother was in a better place, then she was happy for her.

The house had stayed in the family for a few more years, and every time she visited the house, Julia would lie in that bed, stare at the canopy and _smile_ at the happy memories there. She missed her grandmother but her bedroom always smelled like cinnamon tea... and _safety_ and that made her smile.

She sat on her bed, the memories of her grandmother's funeral suddenly coming flooding through her. She hadn't thought about it in years, and it seemed odd that she would remember it that day. But it wasn't. Even though Peter was dead, she had only been affected by one death her whole life and that was her grandmother's.

Until today. Until _Barbie_.

He was gone, cut that rope and dropped to the bottom of that cliff, and she had never felt so empty, so lost, so broken. So _dead_ inside.

She sat one her bed, _their_ bed, lying on her back and watching the familiar ceiling above. She could still hear his voice, the words he said before he cut the rope, _I love you Julia_. It was the first time she'd heard him say those words - and for all she knew the last time - and suddenly she became tragically aware that they are the only words she'd ever want to hear again.

She lay on her back and reached for his pillow. She hugged her tight to her chest, her chest already tight with pain and loss. She breathed it in and sobbed. It smelled like him, strong, masculine and _safe_... And that made her _cry_.

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><p><strong>I know, I know, it's a sad one, and not how I should thank you for your reviews, but I am a sucker for angsty fics and I just need to explore more the night Julia spent believing Barbie was dead. Hope you enjoyed this.<strong>


	16. Music

**16. Music**

It takes him months after it all ends to take his father up on his offer. He invites them all for a Sunday barbeque and they all politely accept once Barbie's accepts. He hasn't fully forgiven his father, but they're getting there. His father treads carefully; giving Barbie control of whatever their relationship might develop into. Julia helps, without pressuring, but her presence and her opinion are the only things that Barbie takes into consideration and she manages to convince him that everyone deserves a second chance – _God knows he's had a hundred second chances, most coming from her – _and that he would regret not trying to patch things with his father.

They are the first ones to arrive and she happily accepts his offer of a tour of the house. She still cannot get over the fact that Barbie was a trust fund baby. His family's house is one of the most extravagant she has ever seen and he looks so out of place in it, with his rugged look, tough guy attitude and disdain to everything about that life.

"I still cannot believe you grew up here?" she says and he turns to look at her. "Why?" he asks and she raises an eyebrow at the ridiculous question. "Well let's just say that I know for a fact you do not own a single tie and I bet your father is the kind of guy who has the entire east wing of this _mansion _dedicated to designer cufflinks," she laughs and he joins her. He takes her hand in his and continues the tour. He'll never admit it to her, but she's the first girl he's brought home.

"Aww," she pauses as the walk past a framed family portrait, "look how cute you were!" she says and giggles at the way he wrinkles his nose, pretending to be offended. "Were? I'm not cure anymore?" he chuckles and she looks him over. She shakes her head and frowns, "It's a shame… whatever happened to this cute little boy?" she giggles as she studies the small blond boy in a three-piece suit that matches his father's.

"He rebelled against his father and joined the military," he jokes but she can see the moment of sadness flashing through his eyes. He takes the photo from her and looks at it, how much younger his father looked, and his mother… when she was healthy… _happy. _The light touch of her hand against his cheek brings him back from his reverie and he just smiles, turning his head swiftly to plant a soft kiss against her palm.

He leads her into the reception space and she stops at the entrance, taking in the splendor of the space. There's an old grand piano in one end of the room and that is the first thing she walks towards. It's absolutely beautiful and she tenderly runs her fingers across the keys. "Do you play?" she asks him as he comes to stand right next to her.

For a moment, he doesn't answer her. He steps closer to her, standing right behind her, his fingers landing softly on top of hers, travelling with hers on top of the keys, his breath comes gentle and warm against the bare skin of her shoulder. She notices that there fingers are no longer moving randomly, his fingers are directing hers as they play a sweet melody. She closes her eyes and shudders, the gentleness of her fingers over hers, his breath on her skin, his body pressing against hers and the music playing in the air are just a little too much and she sighs.

The music stops just as abruptly as it had begun but he doesn't remove his hand from atop hers. His voice comes as sensitive whisper with his lips now almost touching her skin, "my parents made me take lessons all through my childhood," he says.

She has to swallow hard, her voice hitching in her throat, "how come you never told me you play?" she asks him, turning just enough, her nose bumping into his chin, her eyes hooded.

"I don't know… just something else I rebelled against I suppose," he says and she smiles sadly at his remark. "Will you play something else?" she asks as she steps slightly back to look at him.

His head drops and she can see the weight of her question on him, "Julia… I haven't sat in that chair for over twenty years," he says.

"Please? For me?" she urges his, her bright blue eyes looking at him anxiously.

He bites his lip for a moment, considering her request, the look in her eyes boring into his resolve. He can never say no to her.


	17. Forgive

**17. Forgive  
><strong>~ After the events in the diner in 2.05~

"But Julia, how can I forgive him? He _kissed_ another girl!" Norrie vented, pacing the front porch of Julia's house. "And it's not like someone told me and he's denying it, no! I saw him!" Norrie was ranting a mile a minute, not giving Julia a chance to say anything. "How did you forgive Barbie?" Norrie said, causing Julia's eyebrows shoot upwards.

What was Norrie referring to? The only thing Julia could think of she needed to forgive Barbie about was…_ no, surely Norrie doesn't know about Peter._

Norrie watched Julia anxiously, awaiting her reply, but when the older woman did nothing but stare at the ground in front of her, Norrie added, "the other day, I know you guys were fighting… he slept in his car for two nights and well… he kinda admitted it to me," Norrie smirked, "well, not in so many words."

Norrie chuckled and Julia let out a sigh of relief. "Norrie, relationships are hard… especially relationships that have to survive what we're going through," Julia explained. "You have to work hard to make them work, to sacrifice, to compromise… If you think it is something worth holding on to, if you care about the other person enough, then you have to learn to forgive," Julia said.

Norrie walked over to her, finally ending her pacing and sitting next to Julia. "You have to think, are your feelings for Joe bigger than he mistake he made? And is what you have with him more important than that mistake?" Julia said to her, trying to think back to what she would have wanted to hear as a sixteen year old with boy trouble, "because Norrie, he's going to make more mistakes, and so are you. So think about it this way, if it were you who made the mistake, how would you want Joe to react?"

They sat quietly for a moment until Norrie spoke again, "it's just that, I'm supposed to be the screw up, you know? Joe isn't supposed to be the one who makes mistakes." Julia chuckled softly at her comment, "that's not how it works. You're both gonna screw up, you're both gonna make mistakes, but you're gonna learn that you both need to make sacrifices and compromises if you want this to work."

"I do, I do want it to work," Norrie said softly, "he told me he loved me," she added shyly. Julia smiled and put a friendly arm around her shoulder, "and do you love him back?" she asked the confused teenager. Norrie dropped her head and blushed slightly. "Well what are doing here, then?" Julia said.

Norrie looked at her and smiled, "can make him suffer just a bot longer? Until I have the image of him kissing another girl out of my head?" she said wickedly and Julia laughed. "Yeah, you can do that," she winked at her.

"So, which one of you screwed up to cause your fight? You? Or Barbie? I gotta tell you, he looked pretty guilty the next morning," Norrie teased.

Julia smiled, hoping she didn't have to talk about her and Barbie but she knew Norrie wasn't just going to drop it. "We both made mistakes," she repeated Barbie's words from earlier, "sometimes it's just that, miscommunication that leads to misunderstandings," she explained.

"But I mean, you guys… did you really just meet when the dome came down? You look like you've been together forever, you just work so well together, you get each other… I can't see you two going through a misunderstanding or having anything to fight about," Norrie sighed.

Julia chuckled, "trust me, we did only just meet when the dome came down, and we still have a long way before we can communicate properly. Sometimes you're with someone for years, and you still have trouble communicating. You're always finding things out about the other person, even years and years after being together," she explained.

Norrie stayed over a little while longer leaving just as the sunset. Julia walked into the house with an apologetic look on her face, having left Barbie alone for so long. She found him in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, deep in thought.

She walked up to him, standing in front of him. His head was dropped against his chest, grabbing on the counter behind him. "Hey," she whispered, stepping closer to him, her fingers looping into the belt loops of his jeans, "everything ok?"

He looked up, his eyes meeting hers and she saw the sadness in his eyes despite the smile on his face. "Yeah… everything ok with Norrie?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she replied, "boy trouble." She watched his face and she knew something was troubling him, despite his attempts to hide it. "Hey," she said, resting her hands on his hips, "talk to me." He smiled at her, knowing she knew him too well for him to able to hide his feelings from her. _When did he become so easy to read? How could she see through him so well when very few others could? _"I didn't mean to, but I sort of heard a bit of what you were talking about," he admitted, "Norrie's loud when she's ranting," he added jokingly.

She looked up at him, her lips forming a silent _Oh, _wondering which part exactly her had heard. He took her hands in his, squeezing gently and holding both their hands between them against his steadily falling and rising chest. "Do you… do you really _forgive _me?" he finally asked, his voice trembling as he spoke.

"Barbie, it wasn't your fault, Big Jim lied to me and I fell for it, you have nothing to…" she started before he interrupted her, his head shaking, his eyes shut, "No, not about that," he said.

"About _Peter,"_ he whispered painfully.

"Oh," she said, her voice barely audible. _That. _

They hadn't talked about it, not since that night, and despite that, it was always there, a silent, toxic dagger swinging between them. Her husband, the man she'd known for over ten years had been lying to her for longer than she could imagine, he gambled way their life savings, their home, their future, and in the end decided to end his life. Barbie just happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. She's not that naïve to think that Barbie was completely faultless in all of this. He was a merciless enforcer who worked for a bookie. He did pull the trigger. He did lie to her for almost a week, even after… _everything._

She looked up at him, the fear and trepidation at her answer clouding his blue eyes, his lips slightly parted. But he had also saved her life, more than once. He had saved the lives of so many other people, risked his own life for the lives of complete strangers. Where others saw a rough, violent, unapproachable soldier, she saw him for who he was underneath. She knew violence appalled him, she knew that all the darkness in his past was not something he enjoyed. She saw the man who delivered Harriet's baby, the man who protected the young people they've befriended, the man who was willing to hang for crimes he did not commit only to save her life.

Had she forgiven him? That wasn't even a question.

She released her hands from his, reaching up and placing her palms on the sides of his face, pressing her thumbs against his bearded cheeks. She lifted her head and placed her lips on top of his, kissing hard, a kiss full of intent and meaning, hoping that it would speak louder than anything she could have said. She hoped they'd never have to bring that topic back up again because it wasn't even a question.

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><p><strong>This was so hard to write! I knew I wanted something that has to do with this issue but I had no idea how to approach it or if I could properly project Julia's thoughts on the matter. Anyway, I hope I did well!<strong>


	18. Inside

**18. Inside  
><strong>~Post 2.01/Joe, Norrie and Carolyn move in with Julia and Barbie and not wit Big Jim after Joe's house is destroyed~

"What would be doing right now if you weren't inside?" Julia asked. It was a strange question, she knew that, they rarely open up such topics. Too hypothetical. Too _painful._

They just had dinner and were hanging out in the living room in Julia's house. It was going to be a bit crowded, the house wasn't designed to fit that many people, but it was still better than the other choice they had; crashing at Big Jim's.

"If I'd woken up that day, I guess I would've gone with mom to brunch and watched the parade," Joe was the first one to respond. His answer was simple and straightforward. "And I guess right now, I'd be glued to the TV or maybe running some website with theories about the dome," he chuckled, "definitely wouldn't be having as much fun as I am being under dome," he added and they all look at him oddly at his choice of word.

"I'd be incarcerated," Norrie scoffed and all heads turned towards her in shock. "Eleanor!" Carolyn chastised and Norrie laughed. "Well What? It's just a fancily dressed prison for girls," Norrie said while the others still waited for an explanation.

"Ok, so you know that camp upstate for screwed up teenagers?" she asked watching as Joe and Julia nodded and Barbie just shook his head, "yeah well, we were on our way there when the dome came down." She smiled, "I guess I'm lucky it did come down. Pretty sure that camp would have been worse than being stuck under this thing."

It was weird how despite all the horrors they have had to live through, both teenagers seem to think being stuck under the dome was the better alternative. "What about you, Carolyn?" Julia asked. "Well after dropping off our delinquent daughter at her maximum security prison," she began, teasing Norrie, "we were going back to LA," she said, "there was this big case I was supposed to start working on," she explained.

Somehow the conversation diverted to Carolyn's work as she talked about the latest cases she had been working on, one of which was a high profile murder involving a politician's son. It was almost an hour later when Carolyn excused herself to go to sleep. Julia helped her set up in the guest room upstairs and brought down pillows and blankets for Joe and Norrie. "You guys you're ok on the couch?" she asked. "Yeah, we're fine, don't worry about us," Joe replied appreciatively.

She wished them good night and went up to find Barbie already in bed. She smiled at him, took off her sweat pants and joined him in bed. She lay down next to him, her head falling on his bare chest as his arm came to wrap around her. "So I noticed you never answered the question," she said, her fingers tracing invisible patters on his chest as she spoke.

"What question?" he asked, bringing his hand up to her hair, playfully wrapping a curl around his finger.

"The question of what you would be doing right now if you weren't inside the dome?" she repeated.

He thought for a moment. "Probably getting into a bar fight somewhere," he said, partly joking. She looked up at him, a look of sadness in her gaze, "seriously," she whispered.

_Seriously? _He would probably still be working for Maxine (and sleeping with her too), getting into fights every other day, and just wasting his life away.

He suddenly sat up, shocking her as he pulled her up with him. He effortlessly pulled her on his lap and she looked at him questioningly. He just smiled, his hands travelling up her arms, sending shivers through her body, and then travelling back down, tentatively touching her thighs before resting on her waist.

His eyes found hers, drowning in them as he spoke, "if I wasn't inside this thing, here, with you, I'd be lost, drowning… I'd be missing _you."_

She held his gaze, speechless, his answer catching her off guard. She stared down for a moment, bringing her hands up to his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart against her fingers. "But you wouldn't know me… we'd never have met… how could you miss me?" she whispered.

He didn't say anything for a moment, just silently played with her hair. "It doesn't matter if we hadn't met, I'd still miss you," he finally said, "I'd feel there was something missing in my life. I wouldn't know what or who it is, but I'd _know,"_ he explained, "there'd be a big empty Julia-shaped hole in my life."

He caught a tear that escaped down her cheek, wiping it away with his thumb.

"You're a jerk, do you know that?" she suddenly said, making him back in shock. He sure as hell wasn't expecting that answer. _Did he say something wrong?_

He waited silently for an explanation but she just moved closer to him, resting her forehead against his chest and choking out a strangled sob. "You almost _died _today!" she said, "you almost died."

"Hey, hey," he whispered. He placed his hands on her cheeks and lifted her face up, feeling her tears against his skin. He wiped the tears of her cheeks, gently caressing her skin. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said, touching his forehead to her, "I'm here now."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him closely. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against him and holding her tightly.

"Don't leave me," she mumbled against his neck, "please don't leave me."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm worried Julia is a bit out of character in this one... I dunno. I hope not.<br>Enjoy!**


	19. Lost

**19. Lost**

~Post series~

"Are you sure we're not lost?" Julia asks.

She sits in the passenger seat of their truck, in a bright summer dress, her bare feet on the dash. He takes in the light blue shade of nail polish on her toes, a perfect match for the color of her dress and he smiles.

"Yeah, "I know where we're going," he replies, his eyes fixed on her, unable to look away.

Her wild hair blows in the wind and he is mesmerized.

"It's just that, we've been on this dirt road for almost an hour, we have not seen another car in at least two, and twenty minutes ago, the GPS gave up," she retorts, not annoyed or worried, just curious.

* * *

><p>He had woken her up this morning with hungry kisses against her back. She had smiled, her eyes still shut, and turned to meet his lips with hers. She had opened her to be shocked to find him fully dressed. <em>When did this happen? <em>She had thought to herself. The last thing she remembered was both of them falling back onto the bed, naked, exhausted… _satisfied._

They haven't settled down anywhere yet and may never will. Taking to the road once it was all over seemed the only right thing to do and they did just that. They had bought the truck, packed their very few belongings in it and hit the road. It helps that Barbie has a bank account fat enough for them to never have to worry about money, but they barely touch any of the money. They just have no need for it.

"What's going on?" she had asked him sleepily when he stood up from the bed and she saw him fully dressed, down to his shoes.

"Come on, let's go," he had beamed excitedly, pulling the covers off her, enjoying that moment more than she had.

"Where are we going? What time is it?" She'd asked when she saw the darkness still looming outside.

"It's four… in the morning, but there's something I need to show you," he replied with excitement pouring out of him.

Dale Barbara never got excited about things… not in this giddy way, at least.

After a few attempts of ignoring him and trying to get back to sleep, she had begrudgingly relented and gotten up, dressed and into the truck. He had to bribe her with coffee, and a lot of it.

* * *

><p>"Are you trying to kidnap me?" she teases, leaning the seat back slightly and looking at him.<p>

"Yeah, I hear your boyfriend's filthy rich, thought I'd make some money off of him," he smirks at her wit ha playful wink.

"Oh, you poor thing, you're not gonna make a dime off of that guy," she bites her lip and smiles.

"He doesn't love you enough to pay up?" He asks in feigned shock.

She lets out a chuckle and then pouts her lip, "well, I thought he did, but then he turned out to be one of those boyfriends who wakes a girl up at ungodly hours, puts her in his truck and then drives across state lines without telling her where he's taking her."

"That bastard!" Barbie laughs, "well then consider this a rescue mission, saving you from that horrible rich man."

She reaches over, her fingers landing softly on the back of his neck. They trace over his skin until they reach the edge of his beard. She smiles mischievously and with very soft touches, she traces the edge until she reaches that one ticklish spot she knows very well. He jerks away suddenly, the car going off the road for a split second and she laughs.

He grabs her hand before she can pull it away and glances at her sideways, "awfully proud of yourself, aren't you?" he says and she nods her head proudly. "Awfully," she says.

"Seriously, though, Barbie, it's getting dark, we've been on the road for fourteen hours… what's going on?" She asks sincerely.

"Just trust me, babe, ok?" he says gently, bringing her hand to his lips and placing a reassuring kiss. "It's actually just up the road a bit. You'll like it I promise."

They drive in silence for another fifteen minutes before he pulls over and turns off the ignition. The sun is setting and it is beautiful, but sure it cannot be the reason why they drove all day. "We're here," he just says.

"I knew it. We _are_ lost," she says as she looks out of the truck. They are surrounded by nothing but the dirt road they are on and grass. She looks at the GPS and crosses her arms, "yup, here it is, I've heard of this town, Middle of Nowhere, Colorado. Just a few miles from You've Gone Too Far If You've Reached This Point and You're More Lost Than The People From The TV Show Lost," she mumbles.

He actually laughs at her comment and opens the door, hopping out and walking to her side. He opens her door and gives her his hand, "Just give me one more hour, and if you still believe this, then" he reaches into his pocket and fishes out the keys, "here, just get back in the truck and drive away. Just leave me here as punishment."

She eyes him curiously, takes the keys and then his hand, allowing him to guide her out. He keeps her hand in his and they walk off the dirt road and away from the truck until it's just a dot in the distance.

He sits down on the grass and pulls her down with him. The sun has set and the last traces of red are slowly disappearing. They sit in silence for a while. "It's going to start," he says as he looks up.

She lies down, placing her head on his lap and looks up, waiting for whatever _it _is to start. And at some point, she doesn't care, being here, with him, alone is just perfect as it is, but then she sees it.

A symphony of colors starts to play in the sky above and it takes her breath away as lights and colors dance in the dark of the night. And for a moment she needs to remember to breathe. It is absolutely _magnificent. _She lies there speechless, unaware of the tears that have dropped down her cheeks as the northern lights take her to a new world of wonder and splendor.

"It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," she whispers and he nods.

He is watching her, watching the utter joy and marvel in her eyes, watching how the changing colors and the magic in the sky reflect in her eyes, and it takes his breath away.

"Me too," he whispers as he tenderly wipes her tears away.


	20. Elegant

**20. Elegant  
><strong>~Post Dome~

The first time he took her to his apartment in Zenith, she just stood at the threshold and looked around. It was nothing like she had expected. It was… _elegant. _It wasn't so in a fancy way; no, it was _ruggedly _elegant.

She studied the white brick walls, rustic wood floors and high-beamed ceilings. She looked at the furniture, minimalist, sparse… _elegant._

_Ruggedly elegant, _she thought to herself and then she saw it. It was a perfect representation of him. Rough, rugged, caring, passionate. _Elegant._

She realized she was still just standing in the doorway and he was looking at her with a raised eyebrow, a question in his lopsided smirk.

"Everything ok?" he asked once she walked in and he closed the door behind her.

She smiled, "yeah… It's just nothing like I expected?" she admitted.

"Why? What did you expect?" he asked in apprehension. _It cannot be that bad, _he thought.

"I don't know… something different," she said.

He laughed, "a dirty, messy, bachelor's pad?" he asked, "sorry I don't have a month old pizza box in the sink," he teased and she laughed.

She took his hand, "I'm ready for my tour," she said and smiled. It was pretty obvious from the open layout that there was just one room left. The bedroom.

"Well, here you've got the living room," he said, "and here's the dining room," he added as he turned to his right, "and over there's the kitchen. That's pretty much it."

"Are you sure," she said, playfully pressing her body to his.

He laughed and led her to his bedroom, a simply designed room, with the same brisk walls, wood floor and high ceiling with a king sized bed in the middle of it.

"And this is where the magic happens," he laughed, teasingly winking at her.

She let go of his hand and looked around. It was void of any personal photos. There was a single black and white framed photo hanging on one of the walls. It wasn't anything personal, a cityscape somewhere. She walked towards the neatly made bed –_nice military corners – _and started to sit down before abruptly stopping.

"So this is where you bring the women, huh?' she asked, masking her question in a teasing tone.

"_All _the women," he played along but her face suddenly dropped.

He smiled, a soft chuckle escaping his lips, and walked towards her. He took both her hands in his and pulled her down with him as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Julia, you're the first woman I've brought here, and the only woman I ever want to bring here," he confessed softly, bringing her hands up to his lips, feathering them with gentle kisses.

She dropped her head slightly, blushing as she bit her lower lip, "good," she said bashfully.

* * *

><p><strong>Ugh! I don't know why but this was so hard to write, I just couldn't do it. I just hope it is not as crappy as I think it is. Promise I'll do better next time ;)<strong>


	21. Fear

**21. Fear**

He thought her knew fear. When he was six years old her threw a baseball that broke the window in his father's office. That was his first experience with what he thought was fear.

He thought her knew fear; getting caught smoking in school by the principal, sneaking out of the girls' dorms at 4am in college, going to war halfway across the world.

He thought he knew fear; hiding in ditch as bombs flew overhead, walking into an ambush and walking out with half your friends gone, standing on a landmine with only a six year old local boy who didn't speak English around to disarm it.

He thought he knew fear; getting caught counting cards; sleeping with the boss's wife, a gun pressed to his sweaty temple at the other end of a cigar smoking mobster.

He didn't know fear. No. The fear he thought he knew was a joke compared to what he just found out what real fear is. His knees become weak, too weak to carry his body that grows limp. His usually steady hands shake uncontrollably. His chest tightens, unbearably, and he can't breathe. He forgets how to breathe. His heart pounds madly in his chest, threatening to explode. His eyes blink, hysterically, tears flood his vision. _And he forgets how to breathe._ This is fear. Losing control of his body, his every sense, his mind. Until the only thought left coursing through him, through his mind, his heart, his soul is _I'd rather die._

He learns that fear as it takes over him, as she lies on the hospital bed in front of him, gun shot wound to the shoulder, her clothes soaked in her own blood, unconscious…_lifeless._

Losing Julia. This is fear.


	22. Diamond

**22. Diamond  
><strong>~AU~

"It's obviously a 3-5-2 formation," the guy in the red cap said pointing at the screen. "How is it 3-5-2 when he's got four defenders, you idiot!" his friend in the blue cap argued, "it has to be a 4-3-3."

Barbie looked at the two, both of them very wrong, and shook his head. He became a soccer fan during his deployment with the local television stations showing barely other sports. It became one of his favorite sports to watch, especially watching with the British soldiers, where they spent Saturday afternoons watching the English Premier League. When he finally came back home, it was one of the things that came back with him. Because of the time difference, it meant hitting the bar at ridiculous early hours to catch the games. The bar he went to usually had a few other patrons; mostly they came to watch the games. It was an interesting mix of different nationalities all there to enjoy the game, and every once in a while there was a group of people who were there by accident, or dragged there by friends, and who had no clue about the game.

Like the two who were sitting a few stools away from him. He would've just laughed and ignored them, but they were just very loud. They were making all the wrong calls (calling a corner kick and penalty and a hand ball a double dribble), getting all the players' names wrong and both of them wore caps that represented neither of the teams playing. Looking at them in annoyance for the hundredth time in the first half (the idiot in the red cap just called Steven Gerrard "Stan Jeremy"), he noticed _her. _She sat alone, a few stools away from the idiots down the bar. She had wild red hair and piercing blue eyes. He smiled when he saw she wore a white jersey of the visiting team, the team he supported too.

She rolled her eyes at another dumb remark and turned back to the TV. She watched quietly but passionately and ten minutes later, Barbie noticed he'd stopped watching the game and had been just watching her.

"Why doesn't he just bring that midfielder he substituted earlier back on?" the idiot in blue said, when a player got tackled badly. "He wasn't playing that well," the idiot in red replied and Barbie groaned loudly. He'd had enough of those two loud morons. He turned to them to say something but before he could, the redhead beat him to it. "Oh my God, are you two seriously this dumb? Have you ever watched a soccer game before?" she huffed.

Barbie let out a loud laughter, unable to hold it in once he saw how flustered the two were. "First of all, they're playing in a diamond formation, the guy's name is Steven Gerrard, and for the love of God, a player who was subbed off cannot come back in," she said, "Now, please just _shut up. _Some of us are actually trying to watch the game."

The two guys, feeling horribly embarrassed, got up from the bar and found a table away from the football crowd.

Barbie got up and moved a few stools closer to the woman. "Thanks," he said.

She turned to him and raised her eyebrow at him questioningly. "For making those two shut up and leave," Barbie explained, "one more dumb remark, and I would have lost it, and it wouldn't have been as elegant as what you did," he laughed and she smiled. "You're welcome," she said, "nice shirt," she added, pointing to the crest on his chest that matched the one on her shirt.

"Yours isn't too shabby either," he replied with a warm smile. Her smile widened, "Right?" she said excitedly, spinning around to show him the back. It said Julia with the number 5 and a scribbled signature in black on the back. "I got the autograph last month when I was in England," she beamed and turned back to him.

"That's amazing," he said, his smile widening at the beauty of hers. "I'm Barbie, by the way," he added.

"Barbie?" she asked. "It's a nickname," he quickly added.

"I'm Julia," she said.

"I know," he replied and laughed when she looked confused, "it's on your back," he explained and she smiled, a subtle blush spread across her cheeks.

"If you're not busy later, maybe we can grab some lunch?" he asked as the game was coming to an end.

"Sure."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh my God, this was impossible to write. I just did not know what to do. Hopefully next chapter will come fast (and better)<strong>


	23. Refuse

**23. Refuse**

_I go first and I tell them that it's theirs, so long as they let the whole town through. You come last with the egg._

_I have to go first._

Her answer hits him hard. It's not what he expected her to say and he shakes his head quickly.

_No. No, you're not, no. There's no way I'm letting you do that._

His refusal comes quick and loud, and suddenly he is panicking just at her suggestion. She tries to logically justify her position, but his heartbeat just keeps racing, the panic deafening…_paralyzing._

Her rationale makes sense, her plan _is _better but he just… can't think straight. He just can't.

She talks about _if _things go wrong, and he feels his pulse racing and he cannot breathe. He cannot see but a white flash of fear. She talks about him staying behind for the people of Chester's Mill, and _why can she not understand?_

She is the only one who matters.

He will go after her. He will always go after her.

She needs to understand that. She needs to understand that he would be of no use to anyone without her. She was the one who rescued him. If he loses her, he will lose himself.


	24. Tears

**24. Tears  
><strong>~set during 2.07~**  
><strong>

She hears Big Jim behind her and she wipes her tears quickly. She doesn't want him to see her like that. She doesn't want anyone to see her like that. Her face is smudged, streaks of dirt and teats slide down her cheeks and she tries her best to keep the trembling of her voice to a minimum. She's not sure Big Jim bought their lie but she could not care less. Barbie was gone. He was _gone._ And everything she knew and everything she trusted was gone. She felt her world shattering around her and she hated it, hated herself for being so weak. He was his rock, her sanity in the midst of all this madness and she felt lost without him. She wipes her face with the back of her hand as the tears start falling again. She had nothing now, just a memory… and the faith he had in her. She was still in charge of this town, and she will not fail because he believed in her.

She will do it for him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: It's short, I know. I was going with something longer but it got even more and more depressing and I am having a good day, I don't want to make myself cry. So this will have to do for today. Have a great weekend, beautiful people!<strong>


	25. Books

**25. Books**

He didn't carry many things in that duffel bag of his, even though he lived out of it most of the time. He had just enough clothes, the essentials, a toothbrush, toothpaste, razor… a few personal things and one book. He had been traveling with this specific book for the past eighteen years of his life. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd never gone anywhere without that book since his favorite high school teacher gave it to him. His favorite part of the book, in fact, was the message his teacher had left.

_Dale, you might go many places in life, travel all over the world, see things you have imagined, meet people who will change the way you see the world, understand the world even, but when you find that one person, you will find home. Never let that person go, wherever they go, whatever they do, hang on to them._

Eighteen years later, having read the book over a thousand times, he still was looking for that someone. He loved the book, he truly did, and he could recite entire chapters without hesitation. And travelling the world had indeed opened his eyes more, made him understand the book on such a deeper lever, but every time he opened it, and read that message, a part of him felt that he was yet to truly _read_ the book. So he travelled with it, hoping that one day, if that day comes, he can finally say he'd finished reading it.

He stands in the rainfall, a manic downpour that erases everything from existence and rebuild a new world, a world of hope. And he thinks of their lives now, under this dome, the fragility, the chaos, the uncertainty. He feels her lips against his, for the first time and he remembers that message on the first page and he remembers his favorite quote from the book.

"_It is a world of impulse. It is a world of sincerity. It is a world in which every word spoken speaks just to that moment, every glance given has only one meaning, each touch has no past or no future, each kiss is a kiss of immediacy."*_

* * *

><p>*Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Hello! Thanks for everyone who is reading and reviewing these little drabbles and one shots! I hope you liked this latest one! I have an announcement to make. Since with the last chapter I reached a 100 reviews, I have a surprise to those who got me there. So, Romantic in Denial, Luvs2Ship and munyo, first off thank you, and second, as a thank you, I will write each of you a one shot based on a prompt of your choosing. So please, send me your promts, either through a PM or in a review and I'll get to it asap! Thanks again!<strong>


	26. Gold

**26. Gold**

Julia watched as her five year old daughter finished her chocolate, spreading most of it on her face rather than in her mouth. The little girl took the shiny wrapper, rolling it between her small hands before wrapping it on her little finger and smiling proudly.

"What are you doing, sweetie?" she asked her.

"I'm making a gold ring," her daughter replied with a wide chocolate covered smile.

"Yeah?" Julia grinned at her daughter.

"Yeah, just like the one daddy got mommy," she replied innocently.

Julia's eyes widened in shock, she looked up at Barbie, who was leaning against the kitchen counter, "Just like… what?"

Guilt flooded Barbie's face as he took a step towards his daughter, "Abigail! That was supposed to be our secret," he said.

"Oops," the little girl said, putting her hand to her cheek, "sorry, daddy," she apologized.

"Why don't you go wash up," Barbie said, lifting her off the chair and watching as she skipped off towards the kitchen.

"Something you want to tell me?" Julia asked, looking up at him with her hands on her hips.

There was no way he could get out of this now, "stay right here," he said and left towards their bedroom.

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere, buddy," she mumbled under her breath.

Barbie came back a few moments later, and stood right in front of her. Her brought his hand up, revealing a small box.

"Babe, you got to believe me, _this _is not how I planned to do this," he admitted sheepishly, looking around them. Their dirty dishes from lunch still piled up in the sink, him in a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt and her in a pair of shorts and a tank top.

She raised an eyebrow at him teasingly. "I was hoping it would be slightly more romantic, you know, with everything prepared just perfectly," he said, "not because our five year old couldn't keep a secret for longer than five hours," he chuckled, dropping his head in embarrassment.

Julia giggled, deciding to put him out of his obvious misery. "You really thought she would? Why'd you even tell her?" he asked.

"It's not like I did it on purpose," he said, "she walked into our bedroom this morning when you were in the shower and saw it. What was I supposed to do? Lie?"

"Well, that's what I would have done," she teased.

Barbie laughed at her response, knowing perfectly well the times Julia had had to lie to Abigail. "Well, let's just say, she gets her curiosity from her journalist mother."

Julia looked down at the beautiful ring Barbie was still holding, "Babe, was there something you wanted to ask me or are we just going to talk about the little fireball?"

Barbie smiled, and then quickly his face turned serious, and he bit his bottom lip nervously. He took a step back wards and went down on his knee.

"Julia…"

* * *

><p><strong>hey guys. sorry for the lack of updates. as some of you might know, i was in the hospital for a few days. i'm fine now, i'm back home and all is well. ;)<strong>


	27. Change

**27. Change**

"Maybe we should take it easy on him, Max," Barbie said, wiping the blood off his knuckles. Max shut the door behind her, leaving that poor man, beaten unconscious by Barbie behind, "maybe we shouldn't, Barbie," she said, "that man owes me over twenty grand and is months late on his payment."

Barbie threw the bloody rag on the counter in front of him and sighed, "Max, he's got a kid on the way. That's got to mean something. He says he's going to change," he argued.

Max rolled her eyes, "how naïve _are _you, Dale? Seriously, you are lucky you're pretty," she said, "People don't change. That useless lying piece of shit in there will always be a useless lying piece of shit even if he has twenty kids. Just like you'll always be a heartless angry thug with daddy issues, and I'll always be a cunning businesswoman who gets all that she wants. People never change."

She walked past Barbie, running her hand down his chest as she did, "but don't worry, sugar, you'll always be pretty. Now let's go start round two."

* * *

><p>"I owe you the truth," Barbie said to his father as they walked through the vast landscape of the backyard.<p>

"About?" his father asked.

"About why I want to get to the dome," Barbie confessed.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb," Don smirked, "there's a woman inside it."

Barbie looked at his father questioningly. _Was it that obvious?_

"The second that I saw you, I knew you weren't the same man that I knew two and a half years ago;" Don admitted, "I mean, you've _changed_, Dale."

"The way you hold yourself, the look in your eyes, that edge you had from Iraq is gone," he added.

The look in his eyes, one that had always been harsh, angry, _cold_, was now replaced with a warmth, with a caring, compassionate sparkle. And the edge? It was still there, but it was no longer cold hearted and violent, it was one that pushed him to protect, to help complete strangers, to save.

"Now, I know there's only one thing that can do that," Don smiled, "What's her name?"

"Julia," Barbie admitted, unable to hide the way his voice changed as her name escaped his lips. He always said her name like that, like a song only he knew, a tune only he can sing.

"And do you love her?" Don pried some more.

"Yeah. I _love_ her."

He loved her. He was a whole new man because of her, _for _her.

* * *

><p><strong>I know Don is an ass who had been spying on son for weeks, but I think their conversation here was genuine because he <em>did<em> see the change in Dale and it surprised/pleased him.**

**Only 3 more to go!**


	28. Game

**28. Game**

"Barbie, I've seen you sacrifice yourself for total strangers," she said, her voice weak, broken, yet confident, "but in the future, there can be no more lies."

"In the future?" he asked, his voice equally shattered, both of them looking at each other with tears in their eyes, "You're sure." He was sure she would have him packing and out the door, and he didn't blame her. It was the least that he deserved. He deserved so much worse.

"Maybe," she whispered, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

She silently left him and walked upstairs. He sat a little bit longer on that couch, thinking about everything, the past week, Peter, Max, Big Jim, the events of the day, the games…_Julia. _The first woman he has ever had such intense feelings for in his entire life. The first woman whose opinion mattered to him, the first one he was ready to fight for, to lay his life for. _And he just blew it all away._

In all honesty, he had blown it before it even started.

He waited long enough before walking upstairs, heading towards the guest room he had occupies the first couple of nights, before… _before. _

He walked past their… _her _bedroom and stopped for a moment. She was crying. He could hear her sobs through the shut door and it shattered his heart that he was the cause of her pain. He wanted nothing more than to walk in, take her into his arms and hold her, take her pain away and promise her it will all be okay.

But he couldn't. He was the last person she wanted to see. He was the last person who deserved to comfort her, to hold her, to feel her soft skin or sleep with her in his arms.

He walked into the guest room and realized he could still hear her cry from across the hall. He grabbed a pillow and blanket and made his way downstairs. He decided it was safer to sleep on the couch than across the hall from her because he did not trust himself not to break at her sobs, to rush into her room and take her in his arms and hold her.

* * *

><p><strong>I never understood why Barbie slept on the couch and not in the guest room, so here's my interpretation of it.<strong>


	29. Sleep

**29. Sleep**

"It's like falling asleep," she murmurs, and he ignores the stinging tears in his eyes and reassures her, "I'm gonna wake you up so soon."

"It's okay… if you don't," he words leave her lips with so much effort, as the last strings of consciousness leave her body. "I will," he vows, unable to hide the trembling fear in his voice.

"I can't see you," she whispers, her heavy, tired eyelids barely open, and he moves closer to her, he sniffs his words and say, "I'm right here, baby." The hand he holds in his hands is freezing cold and when he brings it to his lips, he knows it is only moments before she is gone.

"Keep talking to me," she urges him, the comfort of his voice the only thing keeping her connected to this world, the only link she has, the on thing she can hold onto to make sure she can come back.

His eyes are blurry with tears, and he is glad she doesn't see him anymore because he does not want her to see him like this, broken, scared, and unsure.

He looks at her, his heart shattering into a million pieces and he falls in love with her again. She looks so weak, vulnerable and yet she remains the most beautiful person he has ever seen, the most important thing to him in this world.

He kisses her cold knuckles and presses her hand against his chest. "You're just gonna go to sleep," he says, his voice barely a whisper, "and then you're gonna wake up, we're gona have a life together," his voice trembles, it shakes, but he means every word. "We're gonna have love, and kids, everything… we're gonna have it," he says and he has never said anything like this before, not to anyone, but at this moment it doesn't matter, weighing his words doesn't matter because he means every single thing he says, and the terror behind these words is nothing compared to that of losing her now. "Anything that you want." He will give her the world, she just needs to be strong enough and survive this.

* * *

><p><strong>1 more to go! sorry this one is crap but I just couldn't with this prompt, I don't know why :**


	30. Road

**30. Road**

"You ready, babe?" Barbie asks as he secures the seatbelt and checks his mirrors.

Julia gives Norrie and Joe one last wave and turns to Barbie, "yeah, let's do this," she smiles.

They cruise down the open road, theirs the only car on the road so early on a breezy Sunday morning. She pulls her hair away from her face, the wind sending her unruly hair into wild mess. She giggles when a loose curl tickles her cheek and the sound of her laughter warms his heart.

She reaches over and turns on the radio, a random station playing calm summer tunes, and when she starts to pull her hand back, he reaches over and takes her hand in his. His hands are warm where hers are slightly colder and she sighs when he wraps his fingers around her hand. He brings it to his lips and his kiss is soft, his beard tickles her skin. He brings their tangled hands down between them but doesn't let go.

They drive for hours, stopping shortly for _more _coffee, and around noon the sun's blasting through the windshield but the wind still blows through the windows. She puts her feet up on the dash and hums along with the radio. He turns to her occasionally, whenever her humming turns into actual singing and she's unabashedly singing her heart out. He smiles at her, his love for her shining through his gaze and she blushes uncharacteristically. He urges her not to stop when she bites her lip.

She tricks him into singing with her when a duet plays on the radio, and he is more self-conscious than she is about his singing. She laughs softly and reaches over, trailing her fingers along the back of his neck, tickling the short hairs there. He grabs her hand just before she reaches that one specific spot below his ear, the one she knows quite well, and gives her a playful warning look. He brings her hand to his lips yet again, another soft kiss and playful bite, a punishment for tickling him and she giggles.

She sits back and watches the open road ahead of them. She looks at him and knows they've made the right decision. The new start they deserve, the new adventure and their future, together, ahead of them.

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is! 30 day challenge (that took closer to 60) but I actually finished it! Thank you to everyone who stuck around, who read and reviewed and sent all the encouraging messages. Thank you so much!<strong>


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